KIRK WONG WILL DIRECT "IRON FIST"

Principal photography on a live action “Iron Fist” movie is expected to begin late this year. The film could actually turn out well as it will star Ray (Darth Maul) Park. Here’s the press release we received from Artisan Entertainment for all the details: ^ Artisan Entertainment announced that action director Kirk Wong is set to develop and direct the feature film version of Marvel Enterprises’ popular comic book icon Iron Fist. Wong, whose directorial credits include The Big Hit, will direct Ray Park (Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, X-Men) starring as the film’s title character from a script written by John Turman (Buck Rogers, The Incredible Hulk). Principal photography is expected to begin in late 2001 or early 2002 based on remaining casting and pre-production. Iron Fist is the first film to rise out of the Artisan and Marvel Enterprises joint venture to develop, produce and distribute character based programming across all media.
The martial arts-themed Iron Fist will tell the story of Danny Rand, a westerner, who as a child was raised in a secret temple in the Far East and as an adult returns to the United States to seek revenge on his parents’ murderer. The character has the power to channel his “chi” into his fist and strike with the force of iron. Fittingly, Wong, Park and Turman are all accomplished martial artists.
“We believe that Kirk possesses the experience, vision and abilities to bring Iron Fist to life from the comic book pages to the big screen,” said Gunn. “Kirk is the right individual to harness the great screenwriting of John Turman and acting and martial arts prowess of Ray Park. Iron Fist is a great kick off to our plans with Marvel and a great production for Artisan.”
Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Studios and Iron Fist producer added, “This is an exciting time for Marvel as we see Iron First and several of our popular super heroes head to the big screen. Our joint venture with Artisan is a major initiative for the company and we are delighted to see this first project moving forward so aggressively. From the moment we sat down with Kirk, it was a total meeting of the minds. His insight and knowledge is exactly what is needed to launch the Iron Fist film franchise – hopefully to a legacy of several sequels.”
Wong’s directorial credits include the cult favorite The Big Hit, featuring Mark Wahlberg in his first action role and Crime Story, starring Jackie Chan. Additionally, Wong has directed numerous action titles in his native Hong Kong including (translated titles) Gunmen, Rock ‘N Roll Cop, The Club, True Colours, Taking Manhattan, and Lifeline Express.
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